DENNIS O’SULLIVAN
Helping a woman who had her car held hostage due to a delinquent garage owner
QUESTION
I have nowhere else to turn and I badly need your help in getting my car out of a shop that shut down. Apparently, they have not paid their rent and the landlord will not let them back into the shop. I have contacted the landlord and he told me nothing is leaving the garage until he gets paid. I have nothing to do with the payment to the landlord but my car is stuck in the garage and I cannot get it out. If there is anything that you can do for me, it would be greatly appreciated. Martha from Hamilton
ANSWER
You have certainly caught yourself in a dilemma and one that I have seen many times over the years. This dilemma is however, totally out of your control. I spoke to the landlord and there is a problem. There are four sets of tires in the close proximity of your car. Your car is on the hoist and there aren’t any wheels on the front of your car and he does not know which wheels belong to your car. He understands your plight and this is what he is prepared to do for you. He is not a mechanic and he will not put the tires back on the front of your car but if you bring a licensed mechanic to the shop on a day that you both agree to, he will let you into the shop to retrieve your car. You also have to have documented proof that you actually own the car as well. Do not bring the mechanic who was leasing the garage or you will not get your car back as agreed.
QUESTION
Something happened the other day and I think that you should let your readers know. I was looking for my car in the parking lot in Burlington and I pushed the red button on my remote. The alarm sounded but when I went to the sound, I found out that it was not my car but the same make of car that the alarm was going off on. It only happened once and when I pushed the red button again, my alarm went off. My car was two rows over from this car. If people get their car broken into and their insurance company tries to rip them off, it is good to know that this could happen. Thanks for alerting other people about the fact that it does not necessarily mean that there has to be evidence that a car was broken into. Hanno from Mount Hope
ANSWER
Do not expect me to tell you how I found out about your insurance claim for break and entry in your car because I do not want to get one of your family members in trouble with you. If you try to use that example for your insurance company, it will not likely work because there are trillions of different codes used in car key fobs and the likelihood of you having the same code is very slim if not almost impossible. The fact that there are other methods that thieves will sometimes use to gain entry into a car without doing any damage are found to be legitimate but having the same key fob code is not one of them.
QUESTION
I had the wrong oil used in my 2012 Honda Civic about one year ago and have had three oil changes since then without any problems. My garage told me at the time, that the wrong oil used could give me problems down the line but I thought that I was in the clear over the last year. Just last week, I noticed that blue smoke was coming from the exhaust every time I started the car up or I was slowing down. I went back to my garage and they are now telling me that it was the wrong oil used that was coming back to roost and that my oil rings were clogged and would need to be replaced. Do you see any recourse for me going after the garage that put the wrong oil in my car? Bob from Kitchener
ANSWER
You did not tell me what type of oil was used or why your garage felt that it was detrimental to your car’s engine. If your car called for 5W30 and 10W30 was used then one could say that the wrong oil was used and that would certainly not cause the engine to burn oil, especially after three oil changes. Before you go chasing after bad advice, it would be wise to contact the Honda dealer close to you to have them do an oil test to make sure it is not something to do with the emission system, which might be covered under warranty.